The Commandment of Discipleship

Back to: CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES SS3

Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking about the commandment of discipleship. Enjoy the class!

The Commandment of Discipleship

What discipleship entails

In anything one wants to do, there must be some difficulties.  In most cases, one has to sacrifice something very costly before he can undertake a particular venture.  For instance, for one to learn a trade or study any course at school, one has to sacrifice his time, energy, money or even his pleasure.  Jesus teaches that the demands of discipleship are even harder.

Matthew and Luke gave an account of three prospective discipleship of Jesus who declined to follow him upon learning the hard demands which discipleship entails.  The first disciple, who volunteered to follow Jesus later changed his mind when Jesus told him that he (Jesus) had no house of his own, where they could go in and relax.

Christ wanted the man to understand that contrary to his expectation, discipleship involves some difficulties and uncertainties and therefore requires some personal sacrifices and commitment Jesus also invited a second man to be his disciple, to which the man asked Jesus to wait so he could bury his father, after which he would follow him.  Jesus advised this second fellow to “Let the dead bury the dead”.  By this, Christ meant that whoever did not receive the gospel was spiritually dead and they should therefore attend to the physically dead.  He also meant that Christians should give the service of God preference before other services.

The third invitee obtained permission to go home and bid farewell to his people. Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62)  What Jesus meant was that the service of God demands absolute loyalty-not divided loyalty, no distraction and no disturbance.  One just has to make up his mind before beginning or deciding.  The issue Jesus stresses here is that one should consider the cost or demands of discipleship before entering into it.

Evaluation

1. Enumerate the demands of discipleship.
2. Examine the significance of discipleship.

Lessons to learn from call to discipleship and demands of discipleship

1. No matter our profession we can be called to serve God. Even as sinners, God can still call us.  Matthew was a tax collector, a profession Jews hated.  To them, a tax collector was a Roman agent of the profession, a traitor, a sinner and a profiteer.
2. The first apostles left everything and followed Jesus. Likewise, we should respond to God’s call promptly.
3. We cannot combine the work of God with earthly duties.
4. The work of God demands full concentration and commitment.
5. Serving God may demand abandoning our loved ones, our family, our cherished professions etc.

Evaluation

1. Enumerate the demands of discipleship.
2. Discuss the different ways God calls people today to serve him

General evaluation

1. Enumerate the demands of discipleship.
2. Discuss the different ways God calls people today to serve him.
3. Do you agree that Moses was a good nationalist? Why?
4. What advice did Paul give on the use of individual talents in his epistle?
5. Identify any two ways of applying your talents.

Reading assignment

• Comprehensive Christian Religious Knowledge fr SS 1-3. By Matins I. Amaechi RSV Bible
• 8:18-22, Lk9:57-63, 14:25-33.

Weekend assignment

1. According to Jesus, discipleship require_____. (a) rejection to participate in local politics (b) renunciation of one’s family ties (c) denial of basic life necessities (d) thinking on priorities
2. The first four men Jesus called were____. (a) Boatmen ferrying passenger (b) Fishermen   (c) Masons (d) stone carvers
3. The first two disciples called by Jesus were_____. (a) Peter and Andrew (b) James and John   (c) Andrew and Judas (d) Matthew and Philip
4. The Statement…. “the son of man has nowhere to lay his head”, was directed to____. (a) the tax collector (b) the voluntary disciple (c) James
5. By Profession, Matthew the disciple was a (a) Tax collector  (b)  Tentmaker  (c) Fisherman (d) Cattle rearer

Theory

1. Enumerate the demands of discipleship.
2. Discuss the different ways of God calls people today to serve him.

 

In our next class, we will be talking about the Arrest & Trial of Jesus Christ.  We hope you enjoyed the class.

Should you have any further question, feel free to ask in the comment section below and trust us to respond as soon as possible.

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